NSW prisons 'next cruise ship incubators'

Overcrowded NSW prisons could become incubators for COVID-19 just like cruise ships, experts warn, as they call for people awaiting trial to be released.

UNSW criminology professor Eileen Baldry says it's impossible for the government to ensure safe physical distancing in the state's overflowing prisons, so any COVID-19 infection would spread like wildfire.

"Just like cruise ships, people in prisons are living so closely together they (jails) could easily become incubators," Prof Baldry told AAP.

The NSW government passed laws last week giving the Corrective Services commissioner the power to grant conditional parole to low-risk offenders where necessary.

About 30 per cent of NSW prisoners are on remand awaiting their day in court. About 50 per cent of them will be found not guilty.

"These prisoners are not serious threats to society, they are not violent offenders," Prof Baldry said.

The state government should look at alternatives, such as bail hostels, to house low-risk offenders awaiting trial, the academic said.